How to Quit Facebook Without Losing the Best Facebook Features
Almost everyone uses Facebook, but almost everyone agrees that the social network has quite a few problems. Chances are, most Facebook users have encountered some feature or flaw–from overarching privacy concerns to assorted interface annoyances–that made them reconsider their membership in the social network. Nevertheless, Facebook users tend to stick around because they believe that the benefits outweigh the costs–and because they don’t know how to leave the service without losing a few valuable features, such as games or public photo albums.
Luckily, you can export or replicate many of Facebook’s most useful features with ease, so you can quit Facebook without losing what you love about it. If Facebook is your all-in-one stop for socializing online, you’re probably better off staying with the service and hoping that the company fixes a few issues in the next redesign. But if you’re hanging on for the sake of just one or two features even though you’d rather quit, take a look at the following tips and tricks. With some help, you’ll be able to enjoy the best parts of the most popular social network without all of that Facebook anxiety.
Export Info From Facebook
If you quit Facebook, all your personal data should be deleted from the Facebook servers. Eventually. But if you want to leave Facebook without losing any of your data, you can download a copy of your Facebook information fairly easily. Simply navigate to your Facebook account settings, and you should see a Download a copy of your Facebook data link at the bottom of the page. Click the link, and confirm that you’d like to have an archive created for you; Facebook will send a download link to your email address in a few hours when your archive is prepared.
Several mobile apps (such as the free SmartSync for iOS or AddressBook for Android) will scrape your Facebook friends info and automatically add it to your smartphone contacts database, as well.
Even so, Facebook offers far more information on you and your friends than you’ll ever really need, and it’s better to be selective about what data you take when you leave. Think of it as an opportunity to do some spring cleaning. Unless you really want your whole Facebook friends list clogging up your phone, do a quick manual review of your friend info and copy any pertinent information before shutting your account down.
Another trick lets you copy one of Facebook’s most used and least appreciated features: the birthday reminder. Navigate to your Facebook Events page and click the magnifying glass icon. Select Birthdays, click the magnifying glass again, and choose Export Birthdays to quickly and easily grab your contacts’ birthday info in formats compatible with every major scheduling program. This way, you’ll remember to drop your best friend from college a birthday note even after you leave Facebook.
Organize Events
Original post: How to Quit Facebook Without Losing the Best Facebook Features
